Though it wouldn’t be fair to single out any manufacturer names in the very slow rollout of Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean upgrades, Motorola has been particularly disappointing. And that’s not just because Moto has come out with updates painfully slow or that it hasn’t kept its customers in the loop with enough official announcements.

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The main reason people have been so let down by Motorola has been the company’s very close relations to Google. That should have implied easier access to software updates, but it’s like it did the exact opposite.

One swallow definitely doesn’t make a summer, but it’s still nice to see Motorola finally get a move on updates. Even if we’re not talking about Jelly Bean, good ol’ Ice Cream Sandwich is better than nothing.

Verizon users should be happy to hear that their first-gen Droid Xyboards are part of this ICS updating wave, getting Android 4.0 OTA (over-the-air) as we speak. Both the 8.2 and 10.1-incher should have been upgraded by now, but if you haven’t received the prompt message yet, you should be able to perform a manual update by accessing Settings, About Tablet, and System Updates. Then simply follow the instructions.

If you have trouble updating, or if you need some reminders as to why you should take the software leap, Moto has been kind enough to upload no less than 13 video clips on YouTube detailing all there is to know about Ice Cream Sandwich, from tweaks and enhancements to preparing the tabs for the upgrade.

U.S. techies on Verizon are not the only ones spoiled by Motorola these days, with European users of the Xoom 2 Wi-Fi and Xoom 2 Media Edition Wi-Fi also getting ICS. The upgrade should be available for both tablet models purchased in the UK, France, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, but again if you have not yet received Android 4.0 automatically do try the manual process by tapping Settings, About tablet, System updates, then Download.

Unlike the Xyboards, the two Xoom 2 models don’t have special YouTube videos detailing their ICS updates, but you should expect pretty much the same tweaks and enhancements, such as the inclusion of Face Unlock, a new UI and improved performance all-around.

No word on Jelly Bean updates for any of the four tabs now officially running Android 4.0, but taking their age and specs into consideration, we probably should not get our hopes very high. After all, there are other newer and better-equipped Motorola devices that are yet to be officially confirmed as getting Android 4.1 at some point.

Has anyone tried any of the four new updates? Has all the waiting really paid off?

That’s another thing with Motorola, as they sometimes announce the rollout of particular updates only for said updates to hit “select” customers in a hectic and fractional matter…

Robert Martineau

I had the Atrix 4g and after the crap they pulled with this phone I have gone away from motorola and bought a Samsung galaxy s3

Geordie Jules

Just received ics for Motorola Xoom 2 wifi only in UK :-)

vbzin

Still waiting for Brazilian update

Colin Matthews

recd update to my motorola xoom 2 media edition mz607 two days ago i am in the uk

jes

Still no update for mz607 in the USA :(

eggy

why doesn’t Motorola just recall all the xYboard and call it a day!? I am literally writing this thread from my galaxy note 10.1, when I bought as a replacement for the xyboord 8.2.(MZ 607). Replace the device Once and returned it for repairs Twice… the thing is a joke! And still no firmware upgrade.

http://twitter.com/tnolte Timothy Nolte

Been 8 days and still no update for my XYBOARD 8.2 (MZ607) in the US. More than irritated.